Guide device for attachment to the wall of a building under construction



June 25, 1968 s. T. BLAKE GUIDE DEVICE FOR ATTA 3,389,471 CEMENT TO THE WALL OF A BUILDING UNDER consmucmou Filed Aug.

INVENTOR BY W Iimw Mk ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,389,471 GUIDE DEVICE FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE WALL OF A BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION George T. Blake, Orchard Dene, Station Road, Padworth, near Reading, Berkshire, England Filed Aug. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 658,409 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 26, 1966, 38,415/ 66 3 Claims. (Cl. 33-85) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to a guide device for facilitating the construction of brickwork buildings and includes a vertical bar secured to a generally U-shaped channel member defined by a pair of legs and a bight portion, the bight portion including adjusting means in the form of triangularly arranged screws engageable with the brickwork from above for placing the vertical bar in plumb condition in a vertical plane which is both normal to the horizontal and parallel to the brickwork, the adjusting means further being operative for bodily shifting the bar vertically upwardly and downwardly, and one of the legs further including means for releasably clampingly securing the U-shaped member upon the brickwork.

The invention consists in a guide device for facilitating the construction of brickwork buildings by providing a vertcal datum, from'which a horizontal datum can be derived, the device comprising a bar secured to a mounting portion which is adapted to be engaged in straddling relationship to the uppermost course of brickwork of a wall under construction, the said mounting portion carrying means engageable with the said brickwork course from above, whereby to enable adjustment of the straddling relationship and thus adjustment of the plumb condition of the bar.

Preferably, the mounting portion is of inverted substantially Ushaped channel form. Advantageously, the adjustment means comprise thumbscrews extending through the base of the channel and in threaded engagement therewith and arranged in a triangular pattern so as to allow adjustment of the plumb condition of the bar in all planes.

Thumbscrews may be provided in one web of the channel, for clamping it to the said course. Preferably, raised regions are provided on the other web of the channel, for engaging the said course when the clamping screws are tightened. Alternatively, thumbscrews may also be provided in the other web of the channel for clampingly engaging the said course.

In order to make the invention clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing FIGURE 1 of which is a perspective view of a guide device of the invention while FIGURE 2 is a modification thereof.

The guide device of FIGURE 1 comprises a generally vertical bar 1, which may be of rectangular hollow section, which is secured to an inverted channel member 2, for example by welding.

Three thumbscrews are provided in the base 3 of the channel member 2, two of the thumbscrews 4 being in line with the longitudinal direction of the channel memher 2, the other thumbscrew 5 being spaced from the thumbscrews 4 along a line which extends midway be- 3,389,471 Patented June 25, 1968 tween them so that the three thumbscrews 4 and 5 have a triangular relationship.

On the inside of one web 6 of the channel member 2, several projections 7 are provided, and in the opposite web 8 of the channel member two thumbscrews 9 are mounted.

In use, the chanel member 2 is placed over the top course of a brickwork wall in construction and the thumbscrews 9 lightly tightened. The thumbscrews 4 and 5 are then adjusted to bring the bar 1 into a truly vertical condition, whereupon the thumbscrews 9 are fully tightened.

Various modifications are possible. For example the bar 1 may have a plurality of notches or other markings 10 for indicating ditferent levels. Various attachments may be provided, for example sliding blocks 11 for securing bricklayers line L, and sliding cantilever arms 12 carrying slides 13 settable at desired horizontally offset positions relative to the datum provided by the bar 1.

It has been found that the plumb condition of the bar 1 can easily be checked by means of a spirit or other level applied to the bar 1 or to the channel member 2. If desired, a level 14 may be mounted on the base 3 of the channel member, for this purpose. Such a level may be in the form of a two-directional level having two tubular levels mounted at right angles to each other or may be in the form of a level in which an air bubble is centered within a central zone of a liquid-filled transparent housing when the base 3 of the channel member 2 is horizontal in both directions.

In certain applications, for example when the device is applied to the outer shell of a wall having a cavity between the outer and inner shell, the cavity being for example 2" wide, it is diflicult to obtain access to the thumbscrews 9 to fully tighten them. This problem can be overcome in a modification of the invention shown in FIGURE 2, in which the projections 7 have been replaced by thumbscrews 15 which can be tightened instead of tightening the thumbscrews 9 of FIGURE 1. When thumbscrews 15 are provided instead of the projections 7, the clearance between the adjacent face of the bar 1 and the brickwork to be erected can be adjusted for example to allow for the thickness of bricklayers line used.

Iclaim:

1. A guide device for facilitating the construction of brickwork buildings by providing a vertical datum from which a horizontal datum can be derived comprising a vertical bar secured to a mounting portion which is adapted to be engaged in straddling relationship to the uppermost course of brickwork of a wall under construction, said mounting portion carrying adjusting means engageable with the brickwork from above for placing the vertical bar in plumb condition in a vertical plane which is both normal to the horizontal and parallel to the brickwork, said adjusting means further being operative for bodily shifting the bar vertically upwardly and downwardly, said mounting portion being an inverted generally U-shaped one-piece channel member defined by a pair of legs and a bight portion, said adjusting means comprising triangularly disposed thumbscrews extending through the bight portion, and one of said legs carrying means for releasably clampingly securing said mounting portion upon the brickwork.

2. The guide device as defined in claim 1 wherein the other of said legs includes raised regions for engaging References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Brown 33-85 Cecil 33-85 Flatt 33-85 0 Mariotti 33-73 X 12/1953 Castiglia 33-73 9/1954 Young 33-207 7/1960 Brown et a1. 33-85 9/1964 Di Carlo 33-85 10/1965 Lessard 33-85 9/1966 Foscarota 33-112 X FOREIGN PATENTS 7/1938 Australia. 7/1955 Belgium.

HARRY N. HAROIAN, Primary Examiner 

